It is well known, in the prior art, that a tube may be hydroformed to a desired complex tubular shape. The tube is placed between a pair of dies having cavities which define the desired resultant shape of the tube. The ends of the tube are accessible through the die and a seal is connected to the ends of the tube so that pressurized fluid injected into the tube forces the tube to expand and conform to the shape defined by the die cavity. It is also known to mount the dies in a press so that a lower die is stationary on the lower bed of the press and the upper die moves up and down with the upper bed of the press to permit loading and unloading of the tubes from the die.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,054, assigned to the assignee of this invention, provides improvements in the press apparatus and in the mounting of a seal unit or seal device on the press. U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,856, assigned to the assignee of this invention, provides an improved seal device for sealing engagement on the outer surface of the tube end in a hydroforming process.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/071,411, filed Jun. 4, 1993, assigned to the assignee of this invention, entitled "External Seal Device for Hydroforming" also discloses a similar seal device having an actuator with a removable end facilitating seal replacement.
The present invention provides a new and improved seal device having locator means for aligning the tube end with the seal device.